All-Star Game hosts: New is in, tradition out

August 09, 2004|BY RICHARD ROTHSCHILD. Richard Rothschild is a copy editor on the Tribune sports desk.

Something screwy is happening with baseball's All-Star Game that goes well beyond Commissioner Bud Selig's misguided advocacy of awarding home-field advantage in the World Series to the league that wins the Midsummer Classic.

Without much fanfare, Selig has abandoned the decades-old custom of encouraging the maximum number of franchises to serve as All-Star hosts. Instead, Selig is focusing on teams with new stadiums, cutting out franchises that haven't had the game in decades.

Take the recent awarding of the 2006 All-Star Game to Pittsburgh's PNC Park. It's true PNC is one of baseball's jewels, a compact 3-year-old ballpark whose location along the Allegheny River should provide splendid backdrops for the game and home run derby.

There's one problem. Pittsburgh was host of the 1994 All-Star Game at gruesome Three Rivers Stadium. The 12-year gap between All-Star Games for one franchise is a major-league low since the start of divisional play in 1969. The previous low was 14 years for San Diego (1978-92).

Common sense and fair play should have awarded the 2006 game to San Francisco or Arizona.

The Giants' SBC Park is gorgeous, and the franchise has not had an All-Star Game since 1984. Giants slugger Barry Bonds could be closing in on Hank Aaron's all-time home run record in 2006, and his presence in his home ballpark would add a sense of history to the occasion. Also, it would be fun to watch an armada of small boats pursuing all those McCovey Cove shots during the home run derby.

Arizona is not exactly Boston when it comes to baseball tradition, but the 6-year-old Diamondbacks have won a World Series, and their fan support has been solid. They were deserving of their first All-Star Game.

Selig, however, said Pirates Chief Executive Officer Kevin McClatchy was "relentless" in his pursuit of the game, and PNC indeed is a stunning setting.

What Selig should have said was: "Sorry, Kevin. Stand in line. And while you're waiting, see if you can do something to stop the Pirates' 11-season losing streak."

It really shouldn't be part of Selig's job description to pump up the Pirates' season-ticket sales with a premature All-Star Game. Indeed, Selig took away the 2000 All-Star Game from the Florida Marlins, embarrassed by the team's low attendance and fruitless negotiations for a new stadium.

After giving McClatchy his All-Star present, Selig made matters worse by announcing that starting in 2007, no longer would he be bound by the tradition of awarding the All-Star Game to the American League and National League on an alternating basis. Instead, Selig will consider giving the game to NL cities with new stadiums: San Francisco and Arizona, plus Cincinnati, San Diego and Philadelphia.

Now hold on. Weren't San Diego and Philadelphia both All-Star hosts in the 1990s? What about Kansas City? The Royals haven't had the All-Star Game since 1973, so long ago that the game's MVP was Bobby Bonds.

Kauffman Stadium isn't new, but since the Royals tore up the artificial surface and added grass in the mid-1990s, the ballpark has become one of baseball's best.

Two of baseball's signature franchises, the Yankees and Dodgers, haven't been hosts since 1977 and 1980, respectively. St. Louis hasn't had an All-Star Game since Busch Stadium's inaugural season in 1966, when the game was still played during the day.

Finally, the Mets have been without an All-Star Game since 1964, when Shea Stadium was brand new and manager Casey Stengel was regaling the media with six decades worth of baseball tales.

Selig, however, said "it's more important to reward franchises" that have new stadiums. Does he mean reward them for shaking down local residents and businesses for the tax increases and bonds necessary to build these facilities? Is Selig's new motto "Build it or we won't come"?

Something is very wrong if the commissioner no longer views the All-Star Game as a reward to be shared by all franchises.

Guess what, Chicago fans? You can forget about an All-Star Game anytime soon. The White Sox might get it in 2033 to mark the 100th anniversary of the game, but the Cubs, who were hosts in 1990, might have to build Ernie Banks Field in Naperville before they get another shot.

As for New York, well, Gotham's media are not exactly in the commissioner's corner on many baseball matters, and the man former Commissioner Fay Vincent once called "a small-town schlepper" would rather not confront hostile questions during what he considers a summer holiday.

Too bad. Imagine a home run contest at historic Yankee Stadium, with the game's greatest sluggers taking aim at those far-off upper decks and bleachers. Maybe fans would see the first fair ball to leave Yankee Stadium.

But history is out, novelty is in. Better make sure your favorite team is planning to build a new stadium if you want Bud's All-Star benediction.